Boeing Hands Off Air-Taxi Venture --- Jet maker buys nearly 20% stake in Archer, transfers some tech units to the company

“Boeing agreed to take a minority stake in Archer Aviation in a deal that hands over control of its flying-taxi venture Wisk Aero.

 

The companies said on Monday that Archer would acquire Wisk, as well as air-traffic software provider SkyGrid and drone maker Insitu from Boeing. The plane maker said that it would retain access to Wisk's autonomous-flight technology as part of the agreement.

 

Boeing is slated to take a nearly 20% stake in Archer, and receive warrants in the flying-taxi company. The plane maker can also nominate a director to Archer's board. The companies said they expect the sale to close by the end of 2026.

 

California-based Archer had a market value of more than $4 billion as of Friday. Archer Chief Executive Adam Goldstein said the deal diversifies the company's revenue base and brings scale to the business.

 

The deal is Boeing's latest divestiture under CEO Kelly Ortberg, who has spent the past two years focused on stabilizing the company's core commercial jet and military businesses. Boeing last year sold parts of its digital aviation services businesses, including flight-planning provider Jeppesen, to private-equity firm Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion.

 

The latest transaction is designed to "accelerate capability development and time to market while ensuring Boeing capitalizes on its investments in these technologies over the past two decades," Brian Yutko, a Boeing vice president, said.

 

Archer started in 2018 with the goal of developing urban air-taxi networks.

 

Wisk launched in 2019 as a joint venture between Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk Corp., but the technology behind it had been under development for more than a decade. It has flown six generations of eVTOLs, or electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, the companies said.

 

The jet maker poured $450 million into the venture in 2022 to speed up its efforts to develop a fully automated air taxi devoted to short trips.

 

Startups including Archer, Beta Technologies and Joby Aviation are vying to be the first company to successfully bring flying taxis to the masses. Most of the ventures aim to develop electric or hybrid transports that take off and land like a helicopter and cruise like an airplane.

 

The emerging air-taxi segment is under development as regulators evaluate the performance of and write rules for the new vehicles. Electric-aircraft startups are also pushing for the infrastructure their vehicles will need to take off, land and recharge in the crowded urban markets they expect to serve.

 

Archer and Wisk had agreed in 2023 to co-develop autonomous aviation technology, part of settling litigation over each company's intellectual property. Boeing-owned Wisk also received a warrant to obtain Archer shares in the settlement.” [1]

 

1. Business News: Boeing Hands Off Air-Taxi Venture --- Jet maker buys nearly 20% stake in Archer, transfers some tech units to the company. FitzGerald, Drew.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 11 Aug 2026: B3.